


Come Back to Me

by loveyoutoobits (lostflares)



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: (if you squint), (which is very much not like how I talk), Anxiety, Depression, F/M, I may have taken a lot of liberties with the prompt I had, NHL!Chowder, No real hockey players were used in the making of this fic, Park Ranger!Farmer, because I love him, because I needed her to have a career in SJ, exactly two (2) instances of swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-21
Updated: 2017-08-21
Packaged: 2018-12-10 18:40:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11697579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lostflares/pseuds/loveyoutoobits
Summary: Chris Chow is living his dream of being part of the San Jose Sharks and living in San Jose with his girlfriend Caitlin Farmer.Then he gets hurt on the road, and she can't get to him.





	1. Chowder

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by [WhatWouldLilyDo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhatWouldLilyDo/pseuds/WhatWouldLilyDo) in the [OMGCP_Heartbreak_Fest_2017](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/OMGCP_Heartbreak_Fest_2017) collection. 



> **Prompt:**  
>  Characters/Pairings: Charmer  
> Prompt Details: Their careers force them into living long-distance. That would be hard enough, but then one of them gets hurt and the other isn't able to get to them.  
> Additional Info: You can add an 'immediately' onto the end of that prompt, and the hurt doesn't have to be physical it could be going through a rough time emotionally or mentally instead. Play it however you want to. The world always needs more Charmer~  
>   
>   
> I love Chowder, I love Charmer, I hope I did this prompt justice! I took a lot of liberties with a lot of things, not just the prompt.  
> 

Christopher Chow was living his dream, even if at the moment he was only the backup goalie for the San Jose Sharks. He planned to be there long term, and was trying to make sure that he would. Not like he wouldn’t mind going to some _other_ team, but he had spent his whole life wanting to be on the San Jose Sharks.

 

He had a wonderful girlfriend in Caitlin Farmer. She was a park ranger, and thrived in San Jose with him. She couldn’t be more proud of him, and he couldn’t be more proud of her. He wished he could bring her with him to every game, but her career forced her to remain in San Jose. Luckily for Chowder, because he would always have someone to come back to. That’s the type of love they have.

 

It’s also a painful type of love. Every time they left San Jose, Chowder would kiss her goodbye, then watch her disappear in the bus’s windows, even as his teammates chirped him. Many of the chirps were expected, he’d been hearing them since he first started dating her. But a few of them were light hearted proposal jokes asking him if and when he would propose to her. He _did_ want to propose to Farmer. But he wanted it to be perfect. And not cliché. He kind of wanted to do it where they met. Which _is_ cliché, and also involves flying out to Samwell, so it’s a bit extravagant. He wanted to spend a few years in the NHL first. Save some money. Make a whole trip out of it. He didn’t want to just _propose_ , he wanted to do it _right_. But for now, he’ll stick to watching her silhouette fade into the distance.

 

Chowder was being bussed away for a roadie in New England, going against Boston and Providence, then further down to New York’s teams and Washington. He was busy watching Farmer out the window, and thinking about playing Jack’s team- he still worried about that- when one of his teammates, Prongs, poked his head up over the seats.

 

“Yo Chowder, when are you going to propose to that girl? She clearly loves you, and we all know you love her.” Chowder blinked up at him, a little wide eyed. Usually the boys just joked or hinted at it, but this is the first time he’d ever been asked.

 

“Maybe when you single-handedly win us the cup, Prongs.” Chowder flashed a smile and laughed, but Prongs wasn’t having it this time.

 

“Dude, we’re all rooting for you. If you don’t do it, one of us will do it for you. Seriously. Worm already said he’d do it.” Prongs threw a thumb back, and Chowder watched as Worm poked his head out, giving him a thumbs up.

 

“Right. I’m going to marry her. I’d decided that back when I met her. But I wanted to make the proposal special. And I need more money for that,” Chowder said. He figured, might as well be matter-of-fact about it.

 

“Right on, dude. Let us know when you need help planning the wedding!” Prongs popped his head back down, and the bus continued on its way to the airport. Chowder looked out the window as usual.

 

~*~

 

They arrived in Boston, their first stop on the roadie. There wasn’t much chance of doing anything for the rest of the day, so instead Chowder opted to call Farmer, just to chat. He loved to chat with her. It was so easy too, with them having so much in common. He was always glad when he could reach her on a roadie, no matter how late it was for him. Perks of most places being ahead, he guessed.

 

“Hey Chris! You made it alright?” Farmer sounded so excited to hear him, it made his heart ache. He’d only seen her seven hours ago, and yet he was already missing her.

 

“Hey Cait. Landed not long ago. The guys have all cleared off, but I wanted to talk to you. How was work?” Chowder smiled as she proceeded to tell him about her day.

 

He loved listening to her talk. It always helped after a game, and at quiet moments like this. Their calls could never last long, because he had to go to sleep early enough to get to the morning skate on time, but he relished in being able to talk to her at all.

 

They hung up the phone, and Chowder sighed. He hated long road trips like this, especially since Farmer could never come with him do to her job. She loved her work, making sure that Big Basin was safe for campers, hikers, and wildlife alike. Chowder loved that she loved her work. He would never force her to drop everything to come with him, no matter how much he wanted to be with her all the time.

 

He continued to think about her as he drifted off to sleep that night. He thought about her work, he thought about marrying her someday and raising a family. It made him desperate to prove himself, so he could someday earn enough to travel with her and finally propose.

 

~*~

 

They won easily in Boston. Chowder was set to be backup, so he could only watch the game from the bench, but he was still happy his team won. How could he not? His whole life he had dreamed about being on this bench with these teammates. Even if he was just the backup, being there to smile and cheer was enough for him.

  
  
  


Boston was a team he knew they could beat, while Providence was not. Chowder wasn’t looking forward to facing Jack’s team. They’d done it multiple times before, but it never got easier. Jack and Chowder always hung out around the game, and somehow that always made Chowder more worried about it. He didn’t want to disappoint Jack by winning, but he also didn’t want to disappoint his team by losing. Even if he wasn’t going to be playing, these thoughts were spinning through his head.

 

His teammates had learned this about him the first time they had faced the Falconers with Chowder as backup. Chowder had been so nervous that he had thrown up before the game. The coach and some of the teammates were concerned, but Chowder brushed it off as nerves. Which was what it had been, but it’s always concerning when someone throws up right before a game.

 

~*~

 

They had an off day before the game in Providence, and once they were packed up in Boston, they hopped aboard the bus. Chowder received a few chirps about his nervousness for Providence as usual, and he responded with a few quips back, knowing what to say to make sure it hurt. He was feeling the nerves, and their playfulness wasn’t helping. He almost felt bad for snapping at them, but they did this every time they played Providence. He’d only thrown up the one time.

 

They arrived in Providence later that night, and Chowder called Farmer. She was a good person to calm his nerves, and for some reason he had more nerves this time than before. He’d gone against Jack’s team so many times, but he had this sinking feeling in his stomach, a tightness in his chest, and he had to just listen to Farmer’s voice for a while, trying to breathe normally. He wasn’t one to be superstitious, but something was going to go wrong, he could feel it in his core.

 

He barely slept the next two nights. It wasn’t like him.

 

It wasn’t until the morning of the game that he knew just exactly what was wrong: he’d be in net. He may have played against the Falconers, but never anywhere but the bench. He had a feeling his nerves wouldn’t settle down for a long time.


	2. Farmer

Caitlin Farmer could hear it in Chris’s voice. There was a panic that she rarely saw from him, and she felt there was more to it than just that he was playing Jack’s team. She knew how much he looked up to Jack, but he also didn’t want to let his team down. He had yet to be in net when playing Jack’s team, so it’s not like he could do anything about it, and it’s not like it’ll change now. She had a feeling he’d be sitting right on the bench like usual, and had been working himself into a panic for no reason, again.

 

Caitlin, for her part, was relaxed. She knew that Chris would always be excitable and quick to react and show emotion, and she was the calm in his storm. She knew she could calm him down, and he could get her excited about almost anything. She loved him for it. Sometimes she had a bad habit of going through the motions without caring, and he had a way of breaking down that wall and making her see the beauty of it all.

 

It was what made them such a good couple. They didn’t just share  similar interests, or because he was so loud and she was quiet. When they were put together, they balanced out. She wondered sometimes if they’d never met on the pond at Samwell whether they would’ve ever found this perfect match. And she wasn’t one to throw the word ‘perfect’ around.

 

She was proud of Chris too. He was living his dream of playing for the Sharks, and she still couldn’t believe she could meet the players. Or even that she was _dating_ one of the players. She liked to joke with him about it, how she was dating a _professional_ hockey player. He practically melted each time, and that’s the only reason it hadn’t gotten old yet.

 

Being in San Jose was great, because with Caitlin’s job of being a park ranger at Big Basin, it was only a short drive away, and the drive was beautiful. She knew that if Chris ever needed to move, Caitlin would be able to move along with him, no problem. Every state has its own state parks. She would follow Chris end to end. She never wants to be with anyone else. She only wished he’d ask her, so she wouldn’t have to do it. She’s all for the girl asking the guy to marry her, but she always dreamed of the perfect proposal with the guy on one knee. Can’t do that if she’s the one asking.

 

Somehow, she ended up going to sleep dreaming about marrying Chris. It was an easy and familiar dream.

 

~*~

 

Caitlin woke up early that morning. She checked the time for where Chris was, but figured he wasn’t awake yet, with it being an off day, and him having the luxury of sleeping in. With bad cell service in the park, she knew she wouldn’t hear from him until after the game.

 

After she got ready for work, she shot off a quick ‘good morning’ text to Chris, complete with a shark emoji, and left for Big Basin. On the hour long drive, she played one of the playlists Chris had made for her, one of the ones he made her promise to play on off days. He swore it helped him win, even if he could never be sure she played it. Still, it was sweet of him to create it for her, and all the music was their favourites.

 

No Matter What by Papa Roach was just starting when she pulled up to the office at Big Basin, and she listened for a little longer before shutting off her car. It was a favourite of hers, but she was never late to work, and didn’t want to start now to listen to it.

 

She checked into the office, before beginning her survey of the park. She would go up and down the trails, and check on campsites, making sure no food was left unprotected or unsupervised. She’d do this for a few hours, return to the office for lunch, than follow the same route all over again, to make sure unattended camps either had someone there or were cleared up by sunset. Caitlin was proud of the fact that there hadn’t been any lost hikers in the time that she had been working there.

 

There were 3 campsites set up, and 2 of them were occupied on her first trek. The last one was devoid of people, but there also wasn’t food lying around, so Caitlin just marked it before continuing on the surrounding trails. There were very few hikers this morning, but that was to be expected. Any hikers who wanted to go this early in the morning would probably end up on the harder or longer trails.

 

At noon, 4 hours since she arrived, she returned to the office, passing the still-empty campsite on her way. It didn’t look changed at all, but she reminded herself that some of the trails were many miles long, and people could spend many hours traveling them. She’d check again towards sunset. Generally, if a campsite wasn’t occupied for an entire day, the park rangers had to mark it for extra watch, and call relatives of the person who had reserved it. If it lasted longer than that it was time to drudge up the search parties. Caitlin knew all the procedures, but the later it got, the more worried she’d have to finally follow the procedure for the first time.

 

That’s why, when sunset passed and the camper still wasn’t back at their campsite, Caitlin decided she really hated hikers. There were absolutely 0 trails in Big Basin that would take someone 12 hours to travel, but here she was, 12 hours after the first time she saw the empty camp, with a still empty camp. She’d looked around to see if anything was disturbed, anything changed, maybe a recent fire, a slightly shifted lamp, anything. But no luck.

 

Sighing, Caitlin returned to the office at the end of her shift. She was free to go tonight, but if the camp was still empty by the time she got there in the morning, she would have to initiate protocol.

 

“Hey Cait. What’s up?” Mandy plopped down in the chair in front of Caitlin, sitting in it backwards. Mandy was a perky teenager who was temping at the office, and she reminded Caitlin a lot of Chris from when they first met.

 

“Oh, not much. One of the camps I surveyed today was empty each time I went by it,” she said. She sighed again, checking her equipment back in. “If it’s still empty in the morning, we have to mark it for extra watch, and call someone related to the camper. It’s a huge hassle, so I hope they’re there.”

 

Mandy pondered it for a moment, but grinned again. “Oh but wouldn’t it be exciting to go on a search party? Like in the movies!”

 

Caitlin wasn’t sure what movies Mandy watched, but she shook her head. “A search party isn’t fun. You have to stay on site the entire time, in case a medivac is needed. We can’t go home until the hiker is found. Let’s hope they return to their campsite in the morning, and we don’t have to go through that particular procedure.”

 

With that, Caitlin left Mandy at the office, and drove home. She did not turn on the playlist.

 

~*~

 

The next morning, the day of the game in Providence, Caitlin sent a ‘good luck’ text to Chris, because he’d be starting morning skate around the time that she would be showing up for work. She listened to one of the game day playlists Chris had made for her, listening to all the pump-up songs he’d carefully compiled. She felt like the day would go alright, for the both of them.

 

Later though, Caitlin stood in the empty campsite. Nothing had changed, the campfire was cold. She stared at it with exasperation, willing the hiker to come out of the woods at any moment. She waited a few more minutes. She knew it was hopeless to hope at this point, but she still had to try.

 

Sighing, Caitlin picked up her radio.

 

“Hey, uh. Campsite 3-9 that I’d marked yesterday is still empty, and with protocol, I’m requesting extra watch. Also, look to call the emergency contact. If they’re not back by sunset, we need to call the search parties.” Caitlin tried to keep any annoyance out of her voice, but she didn’t want to deal with this. If she had to remain on site, she couldn’t get any calls from Chris. She didn’t know what she would do.

 

“Roger that. Keep us posted, Farmer.” The voice on the other end crackled, and she put her radio down. With another sigh, she continued on her survey for the day, trying to ignore the creeping suspicion.

 

Every hiker she passed, she asked if they were camping. A few answered yes, but obviously not in campsite 3-9. Caitlin was beginning to wonder just how far this camper had gone.

 

~*~

 

At lunchtime, Caitlin asked some of the other rangers about the campsite, but none of them had seen anyone. She knew then that it wasn’t going to end well for her. A search party would be called right away, after she confirmed at sunset that whoever it was had been missing for over 24 hours. At this point, there was no doubt about it.

 

In normal surveying, she stuck to the trails, but never strayed more than a mile out from the camp area. With a search party, they’d all have to go and follow all the trails. Failing that, eventually they’d go off the path and into the woods. There wouldn’t be much of a break, but once it was completely dark, they’d only search another hour before going to the rangers’ quarters, to get a quick sleep before waking up before sunrise to continue searching. They would stop to eat at noon. They would search until an hour past nightfall. They’d sleep a few hours. Search before sunrise. So on and so forth.

 

It was very structured, but very time consuming. Caitlin had read the manual when she was training for her job, and had decided then that she never wanted to deal with it.

 

Yet here she was, at sunset. She stood in the campsite. No change. She wanted to cry.

 

“Campsite 3-9 is still empty. I’m initiating search party protocol. All units meet at the head office for group and grid assignment,” she radioed. Protocol was very strict. She hoped Chris had had a better day than her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 90% of everything about Caitlin's job is made up. The most research I put into all of this is literally just where she's working, since I had to figure out somewhere that she could get to easily from San Jose (you'd be surprised by just how far everything in California is from everywhere else in California). 
> 
> If I got anything wrong, I'm telling you right now: I don't really care.


	3. Chowder

“Chowder, chillax. You’re stressing about nothing. Don’t go puking on us this time, just because you’re in net,” Fender said. He threw an arm around Chowder’s shoulders, causing him to jump slightly. “Plus, you’re fantastic between the pipes. You’ll do great, no sweat.”

 

“Thanks Fender…” Chowder tried to shrug his arm off, but continued his off ice stretches. It _may_ have been a bad idea to hang out with Jack on his off day. Seeing Jack, and now knowing that he’d be in net, Chowder was really wishing he could call Farmer. He could really use her voice. Instead, he pulled out his phone to read her text for the 20th time that morning. “Good luck Chris! Knock ‘em back! Love you  <3.” He imagined her saying it, but it wasn’t enough.

 

“Hey Fender, is he still freaking out about starting? He’s been stretching for an hour.” Prongs came up to join them, and Chowder shot him a look. Prongs threw up his hands in an appeasing manner, before sitting on the ground near Chowder. “Chowder, is it because you’ve never started against this team?”

 

Chowder hated to admit that Prongs was right. Only because he didn’t want to give Prongs the satisfaction. But he was tired of holding back, so instead he just nodded.

 

“You went to college with Zimmermann, right? Crazy. I bet you know how to stop all his shots then!” Prongs reached out and punched Chowder in the arm lightly. Somehow, it actually helped calm some of his nerves. It was true, he’d spent a couple years taking Jack’s shots. It wasn’t too much of a stretch to think he could stop them. It was everyone _else’s_ shots he worried about.

 

“Oh yeah man. You’ll stop all the shots. We’ve got complete faith in you. You’re a beast between the pipes,” Fender said. He finally removed his arm from Chowder’s shoulders, and Chowder felt physically and emotionally lighter. They weren’t Farmer, but they still helped.

 

“Thanks guys! I feel better about tonight’s game. Let’s get a win!” Chowder flashed the two a bright smile, and they high fived each other. Chowder quickly stretched out his legs a little more, before standing up. “I’m starving. Let’s get some lunch.”

 

~*~

 

The closer to puck drop, the more nervous Chowder got. He may have felt better at lunch time, but the hours seemed to drag on, and even getting ready in the locker room seemed to take forever. Everything moved so slowly. Chowder just wanted this game to be over already, and it hadn’t even started yet.

 

They took the ice for warmups, and Chowder stood in his crease, looking down the other end of the ice, to the team he knew too much about. He’d met too many of the players to hate any of them. He was still star struck by Snowy, his rival goaltender. He would forever be happy for Jack being on that team. And Chowder would also be forever happy that he himself had made it onto the Sharks. But he’d always wish that he wouldn’t ever have to face Jack. As he is now.

 

Worm skated by his crease, and Chowder barely watched as he turned aside a shot from his stick. Worm gave a low whistle, before skating a bit closer.

 

“Even when you’re distracted you’ve got a good eye on the puck. I’ll never understand how you do it. Glad I’ve got you on my side, eh?” He gave an appreciative tap of Chowder’s skate with his stick before skating off. Chowder shook his head to clear it, before hunkering down to be more serious for warmups. If his head isn’t in warmups, it wouldn’t be in the game either.

 

Even though he told himself that, he could tell he had half-assed warmups. He still blocked most of the shots his team directed his way, but lazily, turning aside the puck more often than using his pads. A few of his teammates gave him odd looks, but since Chowder wasn’t doing any _worse_ than usual, they didn’t say anything. Chowder had to promise himself that he would be better in the game. He _had_ to be better in the game.

 

Warmups ended, and they skated off the ice. A few of his teammates gave him a pat on the back, and he bounced on his skates a few times, trying to shake the last of his nerves. He was hoping game mode would set in quickly, once the game started.

 

The starting lineup, Chowder included, was told to skate onto the ice for the start of the game, and Chowder skated over to his crease, already removing his helmet for the anthem. Swiping a hand through his hair, he laid his helmet carefully on his net. Anything he could do to not think about the ensuing game.

 

The anthem was over far too quickly, and Chowder had to set himself up. But he was lucky to have a game mode and an every-other-time mode. He settled back in his crease, thinking about nothing but where the puck was and the trust he put in his teammates.

 

The first period was quiet. With the defense for the Sharks being what it was, Chowder had a chance to relax between his pipes, keeping an eye on the movement of the puck and where everyone skated.

 

He could hear the shouts from the other end of the ice as his teammates set up a play a few minutes into the period, before the goal lights went off and everyone from his team was doing a celly. Sometimes it was lonely being a goalie on the other end of the ice.

 

Play continued, and by the end of the 1st period, the Sharks were up 2-1. The goal the Falconers got came off of Tater’s stick, and had a weird bounce past Chowder. There really wasn’t much he could do about it, and he didn’t stress about it during intermission. Especially since his team was up 2, and Chowder had made some pretty great saves, including on a shot by Jack. He got a few pats on the helmet for that one.

 

The second period was more active, closer to Chowder. He had to keep aware of the puck’s location more than its movement, and he barely registered the players around him. He stopped every chance that Jack got, and during a stoppage in play, Chowder was a little surprised to see Jack smiling over at him. It was a look of pride, and only a little disconcerting.

 

The Sharks scored another pair of goals, and the Falconers responded with a goal of their own, a sharp shot to the corner by Chowder’s head. A bit of shoving occurred, as a ‘hey don’t hit our goalie’ message, but not much more than that.

 

It was 8 minutes to the end of the 2nd, and the Sharks were still up 4-2. The Falconers came crashing into the zone, and Chowder immediately put himself on guard. It was an odd man rush, a 3 on 1, and Chowder had to be ready to stop the shot.

 

On Chowder’s left side, Tater was crashing the net, with Jack on his right. He passed to Jack, and Jack shot the puck, just shy of the net. Chowder leaned over to keep his eye on the puck behind the net, when something hit him in the head, _hard_. And then the post hit back, just as hard.

 

He fell to the ice, head spinning, throbbing. The lights were all of a sudden too bright, but they were blocked out by shadow. A frantic face he couldn’t place. There was so much noise he couldn’t hear anything. And then he couldn’t see anything. And then he was out.

 

~*~

 

He woke up in a hospital. He wasn’t entirely sure how he got there, or how he ended up out of his gear. The lights were off, so he assumed it was night time. He tried to sit up in bed but nearly threw up from the pressure in his head, so he laid back down with a groan.

 

The door to the room opened, and Fender walked in, looking at his phone in his hands. The game must have ended.  Thinking about the game made Chowder’s head hurt, and he groaned again. Fender looked up, startled, before opening the door again.

 

“Guys! He’s awake!” He called into the hall. He held the door open as Prongs and Worm entered, but he held his hand up to whoever else was in the hallway, and with a shake of his head closed the door. Chowder tried to speak, but his mouth felt like cotton. Swallowing, he tried again.

 

“What happened?” His voice was so quiet to his own ears, but it sent a pain shooting through his head anyways. His teammates exchanged some looks, before Fender spoke up.

 

“The Falconers were crashing the net, and like you were supposed to, you were following the puck, not the players.” Fender looked away, and everyone looked uncomfortable. Chowder was starting to get frustrated with all this dancing around the subject. As if he could tell, Fender sighed and continued. “Zimmermann was coming in too fast, and as you leaned your head around the post, his knee collided with your head, and you got a double whammy with the post on the other side.”

 

“You just… dropped. Those of us who were speeding up the ice to join the rush thought the worst... So did Zimmermann. He was panicking over you, as you just lay there. When you were stretchered off the ice, he left too. Didn’t come back for the rest of the game either.” Prongs sat on the end of Chowder’s bed. No one seemed willing to look Chowder in the eye. There was more to this.

 

“What happened? What are you guys dancing around? You told me the whole thing, but you won’t say _something_.” Chowder managed to choke out, and he had to shut his eyes to keep his head from spinning.

 

“Chowder… You’ve got a major concussion, and a linear fracture. Doctor said you probably can’t leave the hospital for a while. You can’t fly home for even longer… And you can’t play. For probably the rest of the season,” Fender rushed out. Chowder opened his eyes to see the guilty looks on their faces.

 

“Did we win?”

 

“Chowder--“

 

“No, I heard. Did we win?”

 

“Yeah, buddy, we did. Ghost blocked the rest of the shots, but you won us that game. You kept their goal scorer from even having a good opportunity to score.” Prongs shifted a little at the end of his bed, and Chowder eyed him suspiciously.

 

“Hey Fender, who’s in the hall?” It was Fender’s turn to shift uncomfortably, but Worm looked at the both of them in exasperation.

 

“Oh just tell him! It’s Zimmermann. He was here before we were, waiting outside your room. We spent some time talking to him waiting for you to wake up, and he said that you probably wouldn’t want to see him.”

 

Chowder looked at the door. Jack was one of his best friends. It’s not like he could ever hate him. They hang out every time they’re in each other’s towns, even though they’re on different teams.

 

“Send him in. I want to talk to him. Alone,” Chowder said. Fender flinched, and Prongs looked even more guilty, but Worm pulled the two of them to the door.

 

“We’ll be back later, Chowder. Ah, and we’ll send a doctor in after Zimmermann is done talking to you.” Worm waved, and the three trooped out the door. A few seconds later, Jack opened the door timidly.

 

Chowder looked him over. He knew something was wrong from the way Jack stayed by the door, but he also knew probably what that something was. He weakly gestured for Jack to come closer, and after a moment’s hesitation, he did. He sat in the place that Prongs had vacated at the foot of the bed, and they stayed like that for a while, Chowder wanting Jack to start, and Jack refusing to look at him.

 

Finally, Chowder gave up. He figured that Jack was never going to start, probably out of guilt or _something_.

 

“Jack. It wasn’t your fault.” Jack looked at Chowder finally, surprise written all over his face. Chowder almost wanted to laugh, but even just that thought hurt.

 

“Chowder.” Jack seemed at a loss for words. After opening and closing his mouth like a fish, Jack gave up and looked at his hands. “I’m so sorry. Really, truly sorry.”

 

“You had a… a uh…” Chowder couldn’t think of the word. He couldn’t think too hard about it in general, but this was something else. “You were the one I saw before I blacked out?” He said instead.

 

“Oh um… yeah. It reminded me of something that happened back at Samwell, before you were on the team, and I just couldn’t deal with seeing you so hurt.” Jack rubbed a hand on the back of his neck, and Chowder wondered what it was it reminded him of.

 

“Prongs said you left the ice?” Jack nodded, and Chowder continued. “Why?”

 

“Ah, well. Seeing you like that, I was having a bad panic attack, and it was better for everyone on the ice if I just… left. Plus I wanted to make sure you were alright. I had someone drive me here, so I could be here when you woke up. But I didn’t think you would want to see me after finding out what happened to you.”

 

“You’re one of my best friends, Jack. It wasn’t your fault.” Chowder nudged Jack with one of his feet. Jack patted Chowder’s leg in a weirdly affectionate manner, and stood up.

 

“I’ll let the doctor know you’re up. Rest up, though, ok, Chowder?” Chowder gave Jack a thumbs up, and Jack gave a small smile before leaving the room.

 

For the moment, Chowder was alone. He closed his eyes and  relished the silence.

 

With his eyes closed, he heard the door open, and the click of something turning on. He opened one eye to see a lamp in the corner lighting up the room softly, not enough to cause him problems. Well, further problems. The doctor sat in a chair by the lamp.

 

“How are you doing, Chris?” The doctor asked. Chowder shifted in bed, trying to think about how he was doing. It shouldn’t be a difficult question, and yet he couldn’t find the answer.

 

“I’m not sure,” he said. He watched the doctor mark something on his clipboard. Chowder remembered something. “Hey did you call my girlfriend? Caitlin Farmer? I don’t want her to be worried.”

 

“We… tried. But she seems to be in an area with no cell service.” The doctor shifted a little in his seat, and Chowder was tired of people tip-toeing around him right now.

 

“Oh, well, she works as a park ranger. Maybe call her office.” Chowder had no idea what time it was. He hoped that she was still working. The doctor marked something else on his clipboard.

 

“Alright Chris. I’m going to test your cognitive recognition, to see how severe your injury is. The linear fracture in your skull is enough to keep you here awhile, this testing is to see what measures need to be done.” The doctor pulled up a set of flashcards, and from what Chowder could see they had pictures on them. “First, what’s this called?”

 

“It’s… um. It’s a… red fruit?” It was an apple. Chowder knew that. He didn’t know why he couldn’t just _say_ it. It was like he couldn’t find the word at all. Tip of his tongue but so far out of his reach. The doctor marked something on his clipboard.

 

He held up a few more cards, but Chowder was frustrated. That tip of his tongue feeling was there for all of them, and he couldn’t _say_ the words he wanted to say. He felt like crying. By the end of it, he was. The doctor sighed, after marking a final piece of his clipboard.

 

“Chris, you appear to have anomic aphasia, where you can’t recall some of the most basic words. With rehabilitation and further treatment, you can relearn these words that seem to sit at the tip of your tongue. We have to keep you monitored, during your stay here and once you leave the hospital to go home. You’ll need help for a while, but it is possible to manage it.”

 

The doctor stood up, and turned the lamp off. The room was thrown into darkness, and Chowder was thankful. He could cry without anyone seeing him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought long and hard about what injury to give Chowder, and consulted a bunch of people about it. It might not be fully realistic or rational or reasonable, but It is possible to get the injury in the way I said (consulted an actual person who worked with athletes). I may be taking a few liberties with the injury in general: I just need Chowder to stay in the hospital for awhile.


	4. Farmer

Caitlin wanted to cry in frustration. It was an hour past sunset, and she should’ve been home right now, not out looking for some dumb lost hiker. She hoped she would find him quickly, but it wasn’t likely. If he hadn’t found his way back to the campsite yet, he probably wouldn’t. It was bad enough that it was winter, and he probably didn’t have many layers to keep him warm. Big Basin had a strict rule about using the wood from the ground in campfires, but hopefully this camper was ignoring those rules. She didn’t want to end up finding a frozen body in the woods.

 

She bypassed the office, choosing instead to go straight to the rangers’ quarters. She was tired, having searched nonstop since that morning when she had initiated search party protocol. She wished for the umpteenth time that the park had decent cell service, so she could call Chris. He’d say just the right things to make her feel better in a time like this. But chances were she wouldn’t be able to get a hold of him until this camper was found.

 

She wished they could find the camper quickly, before Chris’s next game. Even if they only talked for a few seconds, she wanted to hear his voice, and she knew he needed to hear hers.

 

It was something that had started back in college. Whenever Chris has games, he’d either call her or message her in some way. It was cute at first, but then she found out it was one of his superstitions. He told her that the first time he did it, they won that game, and the next time he didn’t do it, they lost that game. It didn’t always work, but it didn’t stop him from calling. She’d never not been there to receive the call, and she hated to admit that she didn’t want to be a reason they lost, if they did.

 

At this rate, it wasn’t likely they’d find the camper any time soon, and she wouldn’t be able to know if they won or lost. She figured it was better that way, not knowing.

 

In the rangers’ quarters, a few of the other rangers were sitting on various beds around the bedroom. They all looked tired and worn out, and Caitlin felt bad even though tt wasn’t her fault that the camper was lost. She was really starting to hate this camper.

 

“Hey Cait. No luck on your end, huh,” Wendy said. She sat on the lower bunk, and Caitlin threw her things on the top bunk. She didn’t say anything. She was too tired to say anything. She nodded.

 

Wendy sighed, and flopped back onto her bed, staring at the bottom of Caitlin’s. “Do you think we’ll find him? I don’t wanna think the worst but…”

 

“No, I get it. We just have to hope we do.” Caitlin pulled herself up the ladder and lay down on her pillow. The rest of the rangers were all settling in for the night, all of them knowing it wouldn’t be nearly enough sleep.

 

~*~

 

The next 2 days proved just as fruitless. Caitlin was going farther and farther away from the camp, barely stopping for the allotted times. Three days after the start of the search party, Caitlin almost gave up on being dedicated. She didn’t go as far. She didn’t stay as long.

 

For the first time in three days, she was on her way to the office for her lunch break. She’d stopped in the woods normally, sat on one of the trail lines made of fallen trees, eaten her food, put the trash in her bag, and then kept going. But this time she was tired of it. It was cold in the woods, despite being spring. Everything had that clammy dampness to it, and she just wanted to eat where it was warm.

 

She reached the office, and Mandy was sitting at her desk. The look Mandy gave her was unusual. A mix between concern, pity and worry. No hint of Mandy’s usual cheeriness.

 

“Hey, uh-- What’s wrong, Mandy? You look like you’re at a funeral,” Caitlin said, as she moved to the table to eat her lunch. Mandy’s eyes followed her, and Caitlin watched her swallow a few times before managing to open her mouth.

 

“Cait… A call came in for you on Tuesday. From… a hospital in Providence. We didn’t tell you because… well we didn’t know it was so serious.” Mandy winced, like she expected Caitlin to lash out. But Caitlin was just confused.

 

“What do you mean? Why would a hospital in Providence be calling for me?” She was here, in San Jose. Providence was on the opposite side of the country. Chris was in New York by now. There was no reason for a call to come from Providence.

 

“Cait… just come over here. I’ve got the article pulled up.” Mandy moved out of the way, and with a roll of her eyes, Caitlin moved to look at the computer.

 

Right there, in front her eyes, was a headline that read “Sharks Goalie Chris Chow Injured in On-Ice Collision.” She read that headline a few more times, before moving on to the rest of the article. When she was finished, she sat there, staring blankly at the screen. _On Tuesday_. Chris never left Providence. He never made it to DC, or New York.

 

“I have to go. I have- Mandy I have to go.” Caitlin turned slowly to her, wide eyes threatening to brim over with tears. She had never been so afraid in her life. The article didn’t even tell her anything about his injury. Just that he was hit in the head and taken to the hospital.

 

“Cait, you can’t go. We have to be all hands on deck in searching for this lost camper.”

 

“You don’t need me--”

“We can’t afford to lose you. You won’t help Chris by rushing to his side.”

 

“I can’t lose him Mandy...”

 

“All you can do is stay until you find this camper.”

 

“He’s probably fine, while Chris is--”

 

“Chris is safe in a hospital. Liam is somewhere out there in the woods.” Mandy placed a hand on Caitlin’s shoulder, an imploring look on her face. Caitlin knew she was right. She couldn’t leave. It wouldn’t be right.

 

She nodded, but she no longer felt like eating her lunch. She packed it away, and went back out into the park. She was determined to find this stupid camper, even if she had to do it all by herself.

 

~*~

 

For the next few days, Caitlin searched the park without stopping. She’d go into the woods off the path, and sleep outside, refusing to turn back on her direction. She’d light a fire occasionally, and she ate a snack every once in awhile, but besides that, she never stopped.

 

The first day after she found out about Chris’s injury, she had a plan. She set up her own grid system, marking each grid off. It was very structured and formatted, just like normal search protocol, but on a smaller scale.

 

It proved fruitful, because she found the remnants of a long-cold campfire, and she searched in that area for the rest of the day, finding another long-cold campfire by the end of the day, in the middle of the woods, far from the beaten path. Caitlin chose this spot for herself to sleep in, using the same spot for her own campfire. She was pleased that the stupid camper was at least smart enough to ignore the rule about using wood from the forest in the campfires. Caitlin almost felt bad for ignoring it herself.

 

The second day after she found out about Chris, Caitlin was still determined, but she abandoned the grid system. It wasn’t necessary. She had found evidence of the camper, so all she had to do was find more.

 

But this time she wasn’t as lucky. She didn’t find anything. No signs, no new campfires, nothing. Caitlin wanted to cry. She _needed_ to find this camper, so that she could go to Chris’s side. It was taking too long. Any more of this, and Caitlin was positive she’d break down.

 

She searched well after dark. She had a faint hope that the camper would see her flashlight and react. She kept searching until she couldn’t stand anymore, and then she sat where she was, sweeping her flashlight through the woods. She did that until she couldn’t keep her eyes open anymore. She didn’t care that she didn’t set up a campsite. She only cared about finding this hiker and getting to Chris.

 

The next day, she woke up shivering. She didn’t care. The cold would keep her awake. She ate a granola bar, and saw her supplies running low. She would only eat in the morning and at night, then. She was determined to find that camper without having to go back. She wouldn’t go back.

 

She went deep into the woods. She started slowly, methodically, but eventually she couldn’t bear it anymore, and she started shouting and racing through the woods. She was hoping that the hiker would hear her, or that she would eventually run into him, or he would run into her.

 

Caitlin stopped caring about the branches hitting her in the face, even as she felt the trickle of blood down her cheek after a branch cut her. She tripped over a root, and barely reacted fast enough to get her hands up to catch her. She lay on the ground for a bit, catching her breath. She hadn’t realized how out of breath she was.

 

Coughing, she sat up, and just listened to the sounds around her. She heard birds and bugs, and the wind through the trees. She heard a far off wolf howl out, and truly hoped the camper wasn’t in that direction. As her breathing became more regulated and quiet, she could hear something else. The sound of a stream.

 

She didn’t want to hope. She had pretty much already lost it, and if she allowed herself to hope she also allowed herself the pain of disappointment. She couldn’t handle that. She leaned against the tree beside her, listening for the stream’s direction. Once she figured it out, she stayed where she was, her head turned up to the sky, eyes closed. She willed herself to not get her hopes up, but it was so hard. She stood up, eyes still closed, and when she opened them, she set her jaw, and went towards the stream she could hear.

It was farther away than she thought, because by nightfall, the only evidence that she was getting closer to the stream was that it was louder. She was calmer than she was earlier, and much calmer than she was the night before. She set up camp where she was, determined to find the man in the morning.

 

Caitlin lay back looking up at the sky. She could feel the hope creeping in. All her efforts to stop it were fruitless. She could hear one of the few water sources, and she hoped the hiker was smart enough to go there. It’s been a week. Time to bring him home.

 

~*~

 

It took until midday for Caitlin to see the stream. Seeing it right in front of her, she felt like crying. A little farther away she could see the telltale smoke of a campfire smoldering out. She dropped to her knees, letting the tears fall. She didn’t want to freak the camper out by walking up to him crying. She didn’t want him to think she was lost.

 

She remembered, as she sat there, that she had her walkie-talkie. She hadn’t heard anything come from it since the day she found out Chris had gotten hurt. Pulling it out of her bag, she found that it was turned off. Caitlin didn’t remember turning it off, but she also didn’t remember much of anything over the past few days. Working in a frenzy would do that, she guessed. She turned it on, and it buzzed to life. No one was speaking yet, but she knew that she would have to.

 

The tears stopped a few minutes later, and Caitlin splashed her face with water. She really hoped that the hiker was still at that campfire. Standing up, she brushed the dirt from her legs, and tried to fix her hair, to look more put together. Then, she began to walk alongside the stream, towards the campfire.

 

When she got to the fire, she nearly started crying again, because sat in a ball was a man, who looked a lot like the missing hiker. Caitlin walked up to him, and cleared her throat. The man threw up his head, immediately on the defensive, but when he saw Caitlin, he broke out into a smile.

 

“You found me!” He whispered. There were tears in his eyes, and Caitlin smiled back.

 

“You made it really hard.” She pulled out the shock blanket from her emergency kit, handing it off to the man. She sat next to him while he wrapped it around his shoulders, sitting up. Caitlin pulled out her walkie talkie again.

 

“Farmer to main office: I have located the missing hiker.”

 

“Main office to Farmer: is he ok? Do you need a medivac?” Mandy’s voice filtered through, and her voice broke and wobbled. Caitlin could understand the emotions, but tried to keep her voice normal.

 

“He’s perfectly fine. I’ll be bringing him back.” Caitlin smiled at the hiker, who gave her a nod.

 

“Do you need directions, or can you find your way?” There was an edge to Mandy’s voice, and Caitlin felt a bit guilty. She glanced around her, and pulled her park map out of her pack. She looked at the features, locating a few streams, then pulled out her compass, turned down stream.

 

“No we’re good. Just downstream due east until the falls, then northeast to the office. Should take about an hour.” All the streams led to the falls, from what she could tell, so even if she was also lost, as long as she followed the flow of the water she’d get them back.

 

“Roger that, Farmer. See you in an hour.” The relief was clear in Mandy’s voice, and Caitlin put away her supplies, standing up to face the hiker.

 

“Alright sir, let’s get you home.”

 

~*~

 

Caitlin was right: it took only an hour to get back to the main office. Well, an hour and a few minutes, because they had to stop every so often. The hiker, who Caitlin remembered was named Liam, hadn’t eaten much over the past week, trying to ration the snacks he had brought on his hike. Caitlin gave him the last of her rations, and she chatted with him as he ate.

 

He got lost when he went traipsing into the woods after one of the many wildlife creatures, trying to get a picture. He was a nature photographer, albeit an amateur one, and he was trying to get the perfect shot. Unfortunately for him, he hadn’t paid attention to where he’d been going.

 

Even more frustrating to Caitlin was that he had passed over several trails in his wild search for his original trail. He finally stopped moving when he reached the stream, because he didn’t think he could find the trail anymore. Despite being less than half an hour away from the end of a trail.

 

Once Caitlin and Liam made it to the office, Liam’s wife tackled him, sobbing. Caitlin gave Mandy a raised eyebrow, and Mandy shrugged with a smile. The scene made Caitlin’s heart hurt. Chris was still 3000 miles away in Providence.

 

“Hey Cait, you’ve done all the hard work, why not go home? And uh, feel free to take the next few days off. You deserve it.” Mandy came over to her, and Caitlin could hear the implied ‘and need it’. She could’ve cried from the gesture, but instead she nodded.

 

“Thank you Mandy. I- thank you.” She was feeling a bit choked up, and Mandy looked like she also wanted to cry. She reached out and hugged Caitlin, surprising her, but she whispered in her ear.

 

“Go to him. He needs you now. Tell him… tell him I’m sorry for keeping you so long,” she said. Caitlin hugged Mandy back.

 

Liam’s wife thanked her profusely, and Caitlin gently but firmly said goodbye, rushing out the door. She was going home, sleeping for as long as possible, and then getting on the first flight to Providence. It was time to see Chris again.


	5. Chowder

Chowder had stayed in his hospital bed for an entire week. He missed talking to Caitlin. He missed playing hockey. Even as a backup he would be able to be on the ice. But here, here he could only wait. Each day was agony. Not just because of his injury.

 

His teammates were on a winning streak. The nurses told him the scores, whenever they could, and Chowder appreciated it. His teammates would leave messages at the desk, and the nurses would read them off in their soft voices. Chowder only cried a few times because of it. The fact that he had to get every piece of information second hand hurt more than he would let on.

 

He hadn’t heard anything from Caitlin. Every time he tried to ask if they had called her, if they had reached her, if anything had happened, they brushed it off or said they hadn’t heard anything. Chowder couldn’t tell if they were lying. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know the truth.

 

Jack had come to visit a few times, and Bitty too. Bitty had talked a mile a minute about how he wanted to bring a shit ton of baked goods but the hospital wouldn’t let him. He smoothed the bed sheets each time,like he didn’t want to look at Chowder. When he did, he looked like he wanted to cry. Jack looked at Chowder like he wanted to run away. He loved them both dearly, but Chowder was done sitting in Providence.

 

The Sharks’ last game of this road series had been a week after the game in Providence. One of the notes left by his teammates was that a few of them would be coming up to see him, as they had a few days before their next home game. Worm, Prongs, Fender, even Ghost. Chowder wasn’t looking forward to it. None of them had seen him since he’d ended up in the hospital in the first place. He didn’t want them to see him. He was sure he wasn’t a pretty sight.

 

He still wanted to see Caitlin though. He always wanted to see Caitlin. He wanted to take her with him to every game, but she could only ever come to the home games. And even then, not all of them. He could never get enough of her. There was always that fear in the back of his mind that she’ll break up with him, for whatever reason.

 

Thinking about that made his head go to places he had tried so hard not to, as he spent this week in the hospital, going through speech rehab. As he suffered through the pain of the fracture in his head. As he felt like throwing up and gouging out his eyes and plugging up his ears.

 

What if Caitlin hadn’t called the hospital because she didn’t want to deal with him anymore? What if he hadn’t heard from her because she wanted to break up with him? What if, when he got home, all her stuff was gone and he’d missed his chance? He was beginning to regret his stupid plan of proposing where they met. Maybe if he’d just _done_ it already, she’d be _here_ by now.

 

Chowder didn’t realize he was crying again until a nurse came in and looked away. He didn’t care for once. He couldn’t make his brain stop thinking about the worst.

 

“Hello Chris. Would you like to hear the current score for the game?” The nurse spoke softly, and Chowder looked at the ceiling. Did he want to know how well his team was doing at a time like this? Would it make him feel any better?

 

“Sure, why not. Let’s hear it,” he said. He kept his eyes trained on the ceiling. There was no stopping these tears.

 

“Your Sharks are up 2-1 in the middle of the 2nd,” she said. She went around checking the equipment, and Chowder glanced at her out of the corners of his eyes. She seemed to want to say more. She glanced at him, and locked eyes with him. She sighed.

 

“We tried calling your girlfriend again, and there was no answer. And then we called her work, and they told us that she had already gone home.” The nurse wrung her hands, looking the part of someone full of pity. Chowder hated it.

 

“You can stop trying then.” He closed his eyes. The tears hadn’t stopped, but he didn’t want them to get ugly. He thought if he kept them open, seeing the white walls and ceiling surrounding him, hearing the buzz of the machines, he’d just start sobbing. His life had gone quickly downhill, it seemed.

 

“… ok, Chris. I’ll leave you now. Chad will be here in the morning.” He listened to her open the door and leave, then he was alone with his thoughts again. He wasn’t sure if that was a good thing anymore.

 

~*~

 

His teammates showed up the next morning and stayed for a few hours, but they could probably tell that Chowder was in a mood. He was missing a lot more words than he had before, speaking carelessly. The concern present on their faces frustrated him a lot more than him missing the words. He just wanted them gone.

 

And leave they did, with promises to be back tomorrow. Chowder didn’t want them back. He felt bad for thinking that, but he just couldn’t bear it anymore. He wanted out of this hospital. He wanted to go home. The doctors kept telling him that it would be a bit longer, a week, or more. The fracture in his skull needed to be healed before he could be flown across the country and released into the care of Caitlin.

 

Or not Caitlin. Since Chowder was sure she wasn’t going to be there when he gets back. He wasn’t sure he could deal with that. Maybe he would be better off never leaving this hospital.

 

But he couldn’t do that to his team. Even if he couldn’t play for the rest of the season, he still had to be there, cheering them on. He figured it would be a boost to them, to see him there, and not have to talk to him through post it notes called in at the front desk. Chowder decided that, even if it wasn’t for Caitlin, he would do it for the team. He’d wait out this week, month, whatever, however long, and he would go to San Jose, for his team.

 

He felt extra terrible for how rude he’d been to them earlier, and he resolved himself to make it up to them tomorrow. They hadn’t done anything wrong, and they were only concerned about him as his friends. They deserved more from him than he gave.

 

Chowder went through his rehab with more gusto than before, determined to gain back these words forced from his mind. He wanted to get better now. Keep his mind off the thoughts that had plagued him since yesterday night. He didn’t want to think about Caitlin anymore. Not ever again. He would only make himself feel worse.

 

He spent longer on his rehab than before, even successfully remembering a difficult word that had eluded him for a few days. He was so tired that he went to sleep right away. He thought to dream happy thoughts, of sharks swimming on Stanley cups. Even if it was without him.

 

~*~

 

Chowder woke up late the next day. He guessed the nurses let him sleep in, but he hoped they hadn’t turned away his teammates. He didn’t want to miss the opportunity to apologize for the way he acted the day before.

 

A nurse came in, and upon noticing he was awake, gave him a smile.

 

“You have a few guests. Shall I let them in, Chris?” It was unusual for anyone to still be there, they usually showed up in the morning and left before noon.

 

“Oh. Uh, yes please.” He glanced at the door, relieved that they hadn’t left. He didn’t know what he would do if they had. They were only in Providence for one more day.

 

“Right away, then!” She stood up and left. A few minutes passed before the door opened again. Chowder pushed himself up a little, and maneuvered the bed into more of a sitting position. He opened his mouth to apologize to the boys, but didn’t get anything out.

 

Because standing there, with tears in her eyes, was Caitlin. Chowder stared at her, his mouth still open. The door closed softly behind her.

 

“Chris…” One simple word, and the tears started to fall from her eyes. Chowder felt a drop on his hand, and realized he was crying too. She was right in front of him. He wanted to tell her it was a week too late. That he had been thinking she was going to leave him. That he thought he would never see her again. That he had made peace with that. But all he really wanted to do was touch her. Make sure she was really there.

 

She walked the last few steps to his bedside, reaching out with her hand, and Chowder took it. He softly played with her fingers, as they both continued to look at each other, like love at first sight all over again. He pulled her into a kiss, soft and sweet, and when they parted, he looked all over her face, memorizing it.

 

“Marry me.”

 

Her eyes snapped open in shock. Chowder was in shock too. He hadn’t planned on doing it like this. How could he? How could he have planned to get injured, placed in a hospital 3000 miles away from home, to give up on seeing her because he hadn’t heard from her in a week, to see her so suddenly.

 

But it’s how it happened. Maybe he’d do a true proposal, later. Maybe before flying back to San Jose they’d go up to Samwell, and he’d still propose to her on the Pond, even if he didn’t have the ring yet. But for now, he was asking her. As down on one knee as he could get, confined to a hospital bed.

 

Caitlin continued to look at him in shock, and the worries that had plagued him for the last few days reared their ugly heads and crept back. She didn’t want to marry him. She didn’t want to turn an injured man down, but she didn’t want to say yes either. She never loved him. He wished they’d shut up.

 

From outside the door came a commotion, and Prongs pushed it open.

 

“God damn it Caitlin! Say yes!” From behind Prongs, Chowder could see Worm, Fender, and Ghost, all standing back a little from the now open door, looking sheepishly into the room. Chowder had a sneaking suspicion that they had been eavesdropping.

 

“I- what? OH! Oh my god.” Caitlin turned back to Chowder. “Yes. Definitely, one hundred ten percent, yes.”

 

And suddenly she was pulling him into another kiss, longer and deeper. Prongs probably had a smug look on his face, but Chowder wasn’t looking. He was kissing his _fiancé_ and he couldn’t be happier. Or well, he couldn’t be happier given his current circumstances. He broke away from the kiss, but kept his hand linked with Caitlin’s.

 

He turned to the boys, who were all fully in the room now, a triumphant gleam in Prongs’s eyes, and a range of emotions on everyone else’s faces. Embarrassment being one of them.

 

“Prongs, I’m going to ignore the fact that you did that, in favour of saying sorry to you four. I was a real jerk yesterday.” He glanced at Caitlin, before continuing. “I had been thinking that Caitlin was going to break up with me, since she hadn’t called in a week.”

 

Caitlin, and everyone else, looked at him in shock. It was better now that it was off his chest, even if he hadn’t had the impulse control to stop himself from saying it in the first place. But he also needed to know why she hadn’t called.

 

“Oh Chris… I wanted to call you. But on the day of your game here we got a missing hiker. We were barred access to the outside until we found him. It took a week. I only found out about your injury three days after it happened.” She was silently crying again, and he reached up to wipe away some of her tears. “I got on the first plane the day after we found him, but by the time I got here, visiting hours were over.”

 

“You overworked yourself in trying to find him, didn’t you?” Chowder asked. She had a tendency to overlook the basic needs in favour of completing a task. He could see in her face that she hadn’t slept much.

 

“I had to find him as quick as possible. I had to get to you.” She brushed a piece of his hair back, and he leaned into the touch. God, had he missed her.

 

He heard the clearing of a throat, and realized they still had an audience.

 

“Chowder, you don’t have to apologize to us. Ever. You’ve done everything you can for us,” Worm said. Everyone else nodded.

 

“Chow, I want you to know something.” Ghost stepped forward. Ghost had been Chowder’s mentor all year, and Chowder was still surprised that he came by to visit him. “We won the past 4 games because of you. Knowing you were here, instead of on the ice you love, we wanted to make sure we won. All of our wins, they were dedicated to you.”

 

“Ghost… Everyone. Thank you so much. For being here, for being my friends.” Chowder swiped at his eyes, but it wasn’t going to do anything. There were too many tears.

 

“Hey dude. Don’t, uh. Don’t worry about it. We’ll always be here for you, man,” Fender sniffed. Everyone was wiping at their eyes.

 

“Just come back to us next season,” Worm added.

 

“Come home to us.” Caitlin hugged Chowder, and everyone was nodding. Chowder had never felt so loved.

 

The fact that it came after a time where he had never felt so alone and dejected made it hurt, in a good way. He was crying for real, and there wasn’t a dry eye in that room. His season may be over, but he’ll be back next year. With his _fiancé_ and his teammates in the city that he loves.

 

Even if he had to stay in Providence for a while longer, he knew what he was going home to, and who he was going to. He was ready to start the rest of his life, together with Caitlin, forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know if you liked this fic! Leave kudos and comments~

**Author's Note:**

> Come reblog this work and view others from this fest [HERE](https://omgcpheartbreakfest.tumblr.com/) on the omgcpheartbreakfest tumblr page!


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